New exhibition in LCCA Office gallery: Alnis Stakle “Simple story”

From December 6th, 2012, to January 11th, 2013, the Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art welcomes visitors to view the exhibition “Simple story” by the photographer Alnis Stakle.

The artist has based the exhibition on a personal experience – gaining of a stranger’s photo album, which has inspired reflection about the connection between photography and reality. As part of the exhibition, on December 13th LCCA organizes a discussion with the theme “Photography and melancholy” between the artist Alnis Stakle, psychologist and photographer Ivars Austers, philosopher Karlis Verpe, art researcher Ieva Astahovska and the director of LCCA, curator Solvita Krese. Participation is free.

“My exhibition is based on an autobiographical experience which occurred approximately 10 years ago, when I was given an archive of a family I had never met with a request form the owner – to destroy the photographs,” says photographer Alnis Stakle. “The owner wanted to get rid of any photographical evidence of her life after the death of her husband. I saved some of the pages from the family album with partially torn or cut out photos as proof to the perception of the connection between the reality and photography, the projection of grief on images, the melancholy in photography and the impossibility of recovery after a trauma. These few pages from the photo album were an inspiration to discuss the connection between melancholy and photography. The exhibition holds new artworks that have been created from my photos, texts and objects.”

The discussion“Photography and melancholy” willdraw attention to a major and essential part of photography – everyday photos or the photo albums of family and friends and the interrelationship with the viewer. While researching the “melancholic nature” of photography, one may mention the aspect that various theorists regard as crucial – photography is closely connected with the perception of time, e.g., the photography “brings” something that has passed into the viewer’s world, something that is instantaneous and close to death.

About Alnis Stakle

Alnis Stakle through his talented, purposeful and persistent work of the past fifteen years has succeeded in becoming one of the most influential photographers of the middle generation in Latvia. The artist lives and works in Daugavpils, which is where he has developed his academic career. The artist has created works, published in various magazines – "Shots" (UK/USA), "Eyemazing" (NL), "Foto Kvartāls" (LV), "Studija" (LV), "Photography Now" (DE), etc. He has conducted photography and visual culture master classes in the UK, Russia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Latvia.

The exhibition is open to visitors every weekday from 12:00 to 18:00. Entrance is free. The exhibition is held in the Office gallery of the Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art, Alberta Street 13, 7th floor.